QOA VESPER 2 REVIEW

>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translator tools to help<<

INTRO:

Queen Of Audio – QoA – is one of the subsidiary companies of Kinera Audio, just like Celest Audio. I have already reviewed a QoA IEM, the QoA Margarita, however, this review hasn’t yet been published, so in practice today’s review of the QoA Vesper 2 is the first review of an IEM from the brand on this website.

As you may already know, Vesper 2 had its predecessor, Vesper 1 (or just Vesper), which unfortunately I never had the opportunity to listen to. I remember that at the time of its launch I was very tempted to acquire an unit, but I had just bought the Shozy Form 1.1, so that made me miss this chance to get to know the Vesper.

Price: $79 USD
Colors: Blue / Orange
Cable: No Mic

QoA store:

https://amzn.to/49ucGHw

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dka78J1

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DnSxc7Z

SPECIFICATIONS:

Hybrid:
– (1) 10mm Dynamic Driver (DD) per side
– (1) Balanced Armature (BA) Knowles 32873
– Frequency range: 20Hz – 20kHz
– Sensitivity: 14dB
– Impedance: 23Ω
– Termination Plug: 3.5mm (straight design)
– Connectors: 2pin 0.78mm
– Cable size: 1.2m (detachable)
– Cable: 5N copper with silver-plated
– Shell: 3D Resin
– Nozzle diameter: 6mm
– Earphone weight: 3.6g (one side)
– Cable weight: 30.5g
– Total weight (packaging, iems, etc): 189.2g
– Packaging size: 12.2cm [H] x 13.2cm [W] x 4.7cm [D]

PHYSICAL ASPECTS:

Eartips. Here came two types of eartips, both in silicone, one type wide bore and the other type in “normal” style. The wide bore ones are blue, and the “normal” ones are gray/orange. QoA describes on its website that the eartips are “Vocal” and “Balanced”, however, the company doesn’t distinguish which is which specifically… From my lifetime in this hobby, I believe that the “Vocal” ones are blue, and the “Balanced” ones are gray/orange.

-The evaluation was made with the gray/orange “Balanced” eartips in size M.

I always say that I don’t like wide bore eartips and I almost never use them when companies put them, but this time I tested the ones that came. In practice, I thought they would open up the upper-mids of the IEM more, but the attempt was unsuccessful (for me). I also tested the IEM with Moondrop Springtips size G and also didn’t like the sound delivered by the eartips. I did a test with FiiO HS18 size G and I liked the result, it’s an eartip that I would recommend for use with this IEM. Now, the “normal” (balanced) eartips that came with the product can also present an interesting sound, that’s why I chose them to evaluate the IEM, the big issue here is that they have a thicker tube, and I usually prefer thinner eartips. But this is a matter of adjustment for my ears, the eartips that come with the IEM are of good quality. I think it’s possible to find the sound of the IEM with those that came in the kit.

Cable. A part that is undoubtedly a strong point of the product… this cable is simply very good, a masterpiece of cables, starting with the beauty, and then the physical and practical thing. In terms of aesthetics, I was really impressed, everything about it is beautiful, from the braiding, the pieces, to the silver color (almost white), everything was very well chosen. The good thing is that it’s not just beauty, it also has good usability: it doesn’t take ‘memories’ (ripples), it doesn’t generate microphony, it doesn’t tangle easily, it’s easy to roll up to store. I consider this cable to be light… now, are there lighter cables? Certainly yes, but I can guarantee that this one isn’t heavy, it doesn’t cause discomfort, something that for example I thought happened with the Letshuoer S12 cable, over time it added a certain “weight” to the ear (at least for me). If we research for a cable with this quality here, I bet the price will be in the $50 usd range or more (the Vesper 2 costs $79 usd). So, I only saw benefits in this accessory. The chin slider may be the only Achilles heel of this cable, because the piece isn’t that effective, it slides along the cable. Now, this is a small detail, I don’t even care about this piece myself, but for those who use it, be warned.

Earhooks and Connectors. The cable’s earhooks are very good, have a good curvature, and didn’t bother me at any time. I always say that I don’t like these ripples in the material, I prefer when it’s smooth (tubular), but fortunately this detail went unnoticed. The Vesper 2 has 0.78mm 2-pin style connectors (for me it’s the best type of connector). The IEM is already connected to the cable since the unboxing, but I connected and disconnected the pins very easily, without any problem, their quality is great. The connectors don’t have letter indication (L & R), only by the red color under one of the connectors (indicating that it is the right side).

Fit and Comfort. Here is always a very personal point, there’s no exact formula. For me, the fit was excellent, the IEM has this design that fits horizontally, which usually makes it much easier to accommodate the IEM in the shells, which also greatly improves stability. Here with the Vesper 2 it was 100% stable in my ears. The IEM is discreet, doesn’t leave protruding parts outside the ear. I found the isolation good, and the insertion is average. I think it can be an interesting IEM for those looking for use as a stage monitor, because of the semi-custom format (at least I think it’s better than using KZ IEMs for that as we usually see here in my region).

The Vesper 2 has a size very similar to the Shozy Form 1.1, an IEM that I still find to be the most comfortable I’ve ever tested (except for bullet IEMs), only that Shozy is a little thinner than Vesper 2, the difference is actually minimal, so Vesper 2 enters in the ranking of the most comfortable I’ve ever tested but doesn’t dethrone the Form 1.1. I would say that the only difference to point out is that Shozy has a thinner nozzle, so it may be more comfortable for those with a very narrow ear canal, on the other hand the isolation with Vesper 2 is better. The Vesper 2 is a really good IEM to use for hours, the resin is of great quality, the IEM is very light, has a very anatomical shape. I know this is something subjective but I think Vesper 2 is an IEM that in this comfort part will reach a very high number if not 100% of satisfied users.

Accessories. Of included accessories, Vesper 2 comes only with a semi-rigid case covered in synthetic leather and zip closure. By the way, the case is great, fits the IEM very well without tightness or slackness, has space to store some eartips or an entry level dongle.

SOUND ASPECTS:

I understood the sound of the QoA Vesper 2 as Warm – U shape. The IEM have bass that stands out in the presentation, more recessed mids, and more smooth treble. I certainly think that the Vesper 2 isn’t an energetic/juicy sounding IEM, it has a warmer, silky, relaxing sound, leaning towards to a dark sound IEM. I feel lack of the pinna gain a little further forward, but that’s for my taste, not necessarily this is a demerit, there are situations where a very aggressive pinna gain (upper mids) can also make the presentation “hard”. The big positive point of the Vesper 2 is that it completely avoids sounding tiring or fatiguing, those who are very sensitive to these two regions (upper mids and treble) may feel satisfied with this IEM.

Let’s start by talking about the bass. In quantitative terms, the bass is moderate or moderate to high, it has a good presence here, mainly because the other frequencies are lower in the presentation, so the bass stands out. Is this an IEM for bassheads? I would say that this is not the IEM with the most bass I’ve ever heard, but certainly people who like bass would enjoy what’s here. I myself prefer when the IEM has more bass than less, although that also depends a lot on what I’m listening to (the genre or the music). I didn’t feel any roll-off sensation, the extension is good. In terms of mid-bass and sub-bass, I think both regions are present, although the sub-bass region isn’t as intense as, for example, the Truthear Hexa.

In qualitative terms, the bass of the Vesper 2 is firm, defined, controlled, warm, has body, has weight, has physicality, has texture. The highlight is the impact of the bass, which demonstrates very good definition, the punch is well delineated, the kick is neither very strong nor very weak. They aren’t bommy basses, they aren’t muddy basses, they aren’t muffled basses. In some situations the bass may stand out more than the mids, but I don’t see what’s here as bleeding into the mids. Very good bass when it comes to acoustic guitar or bass guitar, the sounds are full-bodied and textured, you feel the sound expanding, coming out of the box (in the case of the acoustic guitar). Also good for genres like EDM, Hip-Hop or Reggae.

The mids. Here we have more recessed mids, both the central mids and the upper-mids. I was reviewing IEMs with more forward mids for a while and when I picked up the Vesper 2 I felt that difference in projection, more precisely the pinna gain of the IEM has that feeling of being more contained, so snare drum sounds, voices, saxophones, are always softer, more recessed in the presentation. Let it be clear that this is not a problem, because it’s possible to hear all sounds with good definition and clarity, it’s just a characteristic of the IEM’s tuning. If on one hand the sounds are “lower”, on the other hand they don’t sound aggressive. Guitar riffs are more full-bodied and softer instead of that dry “crunch”.

Voices. As mentioned in the paragraph above, vocals tend to be warmer and silkier, which in my opinion, here benefited male/low voices instead of female/high voices. The lower the voice, the more texture the IEM will extract. In this particular case, I didn’t find it so interesting to listen to MPB with the IEM, I think it would be interesting to have a little more emphasis on the pinna gain… not that I’m a fan of IEMs with this region very highlighted, but for my taste, I thought the Vesper 2 could have a little more quantity even.

In quantitative terms, I found that the Vesper 2 has treble at a moderate level, and in some situations even from moderate to low. Discreet IEM here in this region of the highest frequencies. There is a song by Incubus – “Sick Sad Little World” that has a guitar solo with very “dirty” treble, almost always gives a prick in some IEMS, but here with the Vesper 2 it was smooth, passed without showing that detail. I think it can be a good IEM for those who are sensitive to higher treble. The IEM presented a roll-off sensation in the treble, the extension is not the best here, not that I still listen up to 20kHz, but you can hear that the finer sounds are getting lower, while in other IEMs this doesn’t happen.

In qualitative terms, the highs of the Vesper 2 are calm, controlled, smooth, polished, without peaks, without coloration. The sparkle of this IEM is more relaxed, polished, it doesn’t show signs of sound crystallization. The detail is ok, the IEM isn’t a champion in details, I think it has just enough detail. I thought it lacked a little more airy. They aren’t shrill trebles, they aren’t sharp, they aren’t harsh, they are not fatiguing, and they also didn’t present sibilance in any situation. Hi Hatss are polished but don’t lose definition, bells and chimes don’t sound sharp or crystalline, mandolin presents itself coherently and without sounding sharp.

Soundstage. The soundstage sensation I found to be very good. The sound has a good amplitude in all three directions: depth, height, and width. This recess of the pinna gain helps the sound to be more open, precisely because it doesn’t sound as if it is close to the eardrum. The sounds gain good spatiality here with the Vesper 2.

Imaging. The instrumental separation I found to be good. Everything sounded to me with good precision and in their proper spaces, without getting congested. Songs that have a lot of bass in the recording the sound of the lower instruments appears more prominently, also because I believe that the fact that the IEM is hybrid and has a dynamic driver just for the bass helps too (remembering that separation can also vary according to the recording and other processes during music production).

Amplification. I used the FiiO Q11 DAC/AMP connected to my notebook to do this review. The output used was the 3.5mm SE and the device with the selector in “High Gain” mode, i.e., with gain activated. I left the volume at 100% on the Windows scale and on the Q11 I left the potentiometer close to 2:10h (towards the upper right corner of the Q11). In my tests here, the QoA Vesper 2 didn’t need more amplification to play correctly. I put it in high gain because I thought the sound was better, but then I always control the volume on the potentiometer so that it is lower. I tested it directly from my notebook and also from my smartphone (without dongle), both handled the IEM well.

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Music is subjective, so below is the list of some musical genres that I personally think that was better with this IEM. Remember that were only few genres and few artists tested. If I describe that one genre was better and the other don’t, it doesn’t mean that you can’t listen to your favorite music genre with this IEM and love it. So, here goes:

PLAYLIST LINK:

Graphs by Paul Wasabi:

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